Former Governor of Osun State and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola and the State government are currently trading blame over the state of education in the State.
Oyetola, during a programme in Osogbo on Friday, attributed the increased number of out-of-school children and declining state of education to the decision of the Ademola Adeleke-led government to sack 1,500 teachers recruited by him for political reasons.
Represented by his former Special Adviser, Sunday Akere, the former Governor advised the incumbent administration to take education seriously and fill the vacuum that exists in the education sector.
“My advice to the government is that it should not play politics with education,” he declared.
“Approximately 1,500 teachers were imputed when we were in government, but regrettably, the current administration stopped them all when they took office, and for more than a year, they have done nothing to fill the openings. Children in Osun State who are not in school have increased recently as a result of this. I want to beg the government to make sure they hire enough instructors, and I also want the government to work with the former students of every school in the state.”
Reacting to the statement by former Governor, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, in a statement on Saturday said the incumbent administration is reforming the education sector.
He said the Adeleke’s administration sacked over 10,000 workers illegally recruited by ex-governor Oyetola in the twilight of his administration.
“It is on records that the last administration in a series of post election bobby traps employed over 10,000 workers to make the state ungovernable for the incoming Adeleke government, a development the new government promptly addressed with six executive orders to restore normalcy.”
Alimit posited that his administration embarked on holistic reform of the education sector by addressing the three key determinants of educational performance namely teachers’ welfare, learning environment and learning materials, noting that the administration is simultaneously implementing measures on the three areas.
“In the last one year, 31 schools have been comprehensively rehabilitated with another 32 ongoing statewide. The administration is also paying close attention to the welfare of teachers through ongoing addressing of issues tabled before the government by the association of school principals, Nigerian Union of Teachers and the Parents and Teachers Association.
“Following need assessment across Osun schools, the statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi posited that the administration is set to employ six thousand teachers before the end of June, adding that “the reform is holistic as school environment, personnel requirement and welfare as well upgrade of school buildings are simultaneously being effected”
